The Sentry Tournament of Champions brings together all the PGA Tour winners from last season. Rory McIlroy is the only absentee from the roll call of 2021. However, there is still a field of 39 players because the Olympic gold medallist, Xander Schauffelle, received a special invitation.
It is the smallest and most select field of the season other than the Tour Championship which makes for a closely matched betting market. The defending champion is Harris English who beat Joaquinn Niemann in a playoff after both players completed the regulation 72 holes in 25 under par.
The tournament takes place at the regular venue, on the Plantation Course at Kapalua at Maui in Hawaii. It is a par 73 layout because there are three par 3s. The course has redesigned been and this is the third renewal on the modified which means there will be faster greens than in the past. The fairways are generally wide and the greens are above average in size.
Calm weather conditions make for low scoring and the average winning score over the last five events is almost 22 under. That figure is distorted by a winning score of just 14 under when players first competed on the new design in 2020.
Here are some key skills for potential winners this week.
Driving Accuracy
Greens in Regulation
Strokes Gained Putting
2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions Picks – Winner, Top 10, and Sleepers
2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions Out Winner Pick
Collin Morikawa (+1200)
We strongly like the chances of the current Open champion this week. He has played the event on two occasions, recording finishing positions of tied 7th. Morikawa has already won two majors at the age of 24 as he won the PGA Championship in 2020 and looks destined to complete the career Grand Slam. He has made the top eight in five of the eight majors he has contested to date.
Our outright winner pick has the skills profile that is suited to this type of track. Morikawa game is more about accuracy than distance and a multiple major champion must putt well. He won the DP World Tour Championship on the European Tour in November with a score of 17 under. That win made him the first player from the United States to win the Race to Dubai, which is their money list.
Best Value Top 10 Pick
Cameron Smith (+1800)
Experience can be key to low scoring on the Plantation course and our Top 10 Pick is playing the event at Kapalua for the third time. He qualified by winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans which is a unique team event but still counts as PGA Tour win. Smith scores well in the key statistical areas and looks a good bet to record a decent finish in this limited field.
Sentry Tournament of Champions Sleeper Pick
Talor Gooch (+4000)
Our sleeper this week won the RSM Classic in November, which was the last qualifying event. Two other top five’s in the early season events at the end of last year has put Talor Gooch at the top of the current Fedex Cup standings. Excellent putting and solid approach play suggests Gooch could get in contention at the business end of the tournament.
For the full list of odds for the outright winner of the Tournament of Champions, you should visit here
